Rai

Character Name:
Rai

Hometown:
Osaka, Japan by way of Canterbury, England

Height:
6'1"

Weight:
175 pounds

Alignment:
Face (though it is not to say he'll be well received in UCI)

In-Ring Style:
Strong Style

Bio:
Raymond Longstreet was the only child of the United Kingdom's Ambassador to the island of Japan and a man who took to the culture like few others in this generation. When he was growing up, he divided his time equally between the two nations but decided that the Land of the Rising Sun had more to offer him. He graduated from the local University in Osaka and went on to assimilate himself to the culture there. He took a wife in Japan and, when he was twenty-seven, a young daughter was born to him. He thought he had all that he ever wanted. That is, until he discovered the art of professional wrestling. The sport took on a new meaning in the Far East and he embraced it, made it his new goal in life. He joined the premiere dojo in Osaka, trained for two hard years under the direction of the sport's most respected names in the business, all in the hopes he would seek honor in the rings across the island.

Fortune wove a different tale, though, one that involved Raymond to take the artform he had learned to a corrupt land. The dojo masters gave their pupil a task that he must complete before his chance at honor in the homeland would be allowed: he had to conquer the wind. Only then would the corrupt know just how far they had fallen. He was given the simple name of Rai, one that would be easy for men to remember and perhaps fear, given time. He left his homeland, his family, and his way of life for a new one in the tainted land of the United States where the art of wrestling had been warped and broken by crazed minds. He was a deliverer, a savior.

Rai, the Lone Samurai, was here in United Championship Infinite to conquer the wind and all who stood in his way to get there.

Attire:
When backstage and in his entrance, Rai is seen wearing a traditional kimono in dark, earthen shades, plain, loose pants martial artists often wear that reach his ankle, and simple, leather sandals. In his entrance, he will wear a Katana on his hip that is held in place by a silken sash, also in an earthen color; this weapon will never be drawn against an opponent out of respect for the art Rai was here to perform. When in-ring, Rai wears only the pants. The kimono, sword, and sandals are passed off to the ringside staff for safe-keeping until the bout is over. The only deviation Rai will ever take from this is when he competes in matches of great importance. In these matches, he will don the samurai armor that had been gifted to him by the dojo masters before his departure. For fairness, he will take it off at ringside before competing, but it does signify the importance of the match never the less.

Theme song:
Samurai Battle March

Pic Base:
Keanu Reeves from the movie 47 Ronin

Entrance:
As the drum beat picks up and the stage light begin to glow like pink blossoms in the spring time, Rai steps out from the back with a single hand resting against the hilt of the sword on his hip. He scans the rowdy crowd, taking in the atmosphere with little of his emotion conveyed behind the blank eyes. He waits for a few moments near entrance to allow the drums to pick up in intensity before beginning a slow march down to the ring. Once there, he uses the steel steps to climb into the ring while the drums pound through the arena, riling the crowd up. By now, they're probably jeering and booing the man, but he pays them no mind. Kneeling down, he begins the slow process of folding his kimono. This takes a good minute or so before he finally passes off it along with his sandals and sword. Only then does he turn to face whatever opponent he had for the evening, or waited until they arrived after him.

Favorite moves:
Palm Strikes
Forearm Strike
Elbow Strikes
Shoot Kicks
Knee Strikes
Suplex Variations (German, Exploder, Saito, etc)
Double Arm DDT
Double Knee Facebreaker
Other "Strong Style" moves the match writer would think appropriate

Signature move(s):
Spinning Backfist (almost always the set-up to his finisher)
Fujiwara Armbar

Finisher(s):
Snap Brainbuster *very little theatrics or delay with this move. Rai wants to spike the opponent as quickly as he can*

Manager (optional): N/A